1504 replies to this topic

[Usurper]

2 Mirtul, 1369

Gameplay note: I have changed my character's name to Syvishtar. It feels better to type. Syvishtar.

We have stripped the dead hobgoblin, and I am ready to immediately go after the rest. Imoen stops me, though. She says that perhaps it would be better if we rested first. Slept. Regained our strength. I agree. On a whim, I take the hobgoblin's helmet for good measure, and look around. I don't trust sleeping out in the open, right next to where we have just been ambushed by hobgoblins, so I touch the Stone of Recall and take us away.



Gameplay note: Before I used the stone, Syvishtar's XP was 370, Imoen's was 196, and Xzar's was 235. After using the stone, my XP dropped to 366, Imoen's to 194, and Xzar's to 232. It seems like the XP cost is just the amount that you get after killing 1 or 2 monsters. Not too bad. I wonder if it will go up over time? I'll have to keep my eye on that.

Also, there is going to be a ton of recycled location art in this game. I think its fun trying to identify where the original artwork comes from. This particular cave we find ourselves in looks like something out of Icewind Dale, but I don't ever remember coming here in those games, although I've played both of them. Does anybody recognize this little cave? Sometimes modders put together two different bits of art, like the portal might be from another location in another game. But I'm not sure for this one.

This place is cool, but not cold. Small, but not too cramped. I get a feeling of peace here, and of oldness. Everyone seems quiet here. Nothing really to do. I take a look around - it doesn't take long. There's absolutely nothing here. We can sleep but it wouldn't make a good home.

I wonder if things stay here after we are gone, so I put down the hobgoblin's helmet before I rest. I just lay down to go to sleep when Xzar addresses Imoen.




Eh... no, just lint and crumbs. Why? You're holding something back?

I am not. Just the poor tools of my trade, as you have those of yours.

Mm-hmm. A surgical knife and gloves, parchmemt, quills, ink, a ball of gut-string, four empty ceramic vials, and two steel vials that feel empty.

What are those stoppered with, anyway? It isn't cork. Seems more like some kind of tar.

You *have* been curious. They are non-reactive plugs made by specialists back at... of my acquaintance. One never knows when one might wish to preserve a... specimen.

Specimen? Of what?

One never knows. Why just the other day, I espied what I took for a specimen of true happiness. Alas! It fled before I could make certain of it.

Bet that happens to you a lot.

All things come to those who aspire... and wait. Wait for someome to finish the drudge-work, damn their idle bones! Why *can't* they do their work, and let me get on with mine?

Maybe you haven't waited long enough yet.

*sigh* Probably not. Would you like a jelly drop, Imoen?

Uh... do you have any?

I had some once-upon-a-time, and I should like another. Please keep that im mind, should you run across any, hmmm?

This guy is starting to creep me out. But I'm also morbidly curious what he considers to be a specimen of true happiness. I can't help but imagine him chasing a bunny through an open field, tweezers and stopper in hand, calling for it to remain still. Eugh.

After we rest, I take the opportunity to cast Find Familiar. Thankfully, the spell is cast normally. Of all the things, a cat shows up!



Gameplay note: The cat is a stealthy, stealthy familiar.



It is the perfect scout with 99 in Hide in Shadows/Move Silently. It is also pretty good at finding low-level traps, which we are going to be running into often. It can even disarm them. Basically it's a thief. And at -4 AC with 24 hit points its also a freakin' tank compared to the rest of the party, even Montaron. With it and Haiass on the front lines we should be in great shape. Finally, calling my familiar has given me 12 more hit points, boosting me up to 18. Great!

I spend some time petting my new cat, and then put him into my backpack. I suggest we rest some more to regain my lost spell, and everyone agrees. So we spend 8 more hours in the quiet, dim cave of Shaundakul. I idly wonder what the rangers from Myth Drannor used to do in this cave. Of course there is no way to find out. It would have been great if there was a logbook installed in here. Or maybe some cave paintings on the walls. I let my imagination wander...

After we wake up I double-check our inventory again. The gems I got when I tried to cast Grease didn't disappear. The magic is really looking out for me. I am never alone when the magic is with me.











I remember it was the moonstone that I picked up from the hobgoblin corpse. I wonder how much money I could get for it. Or how much influence? I smile and check over the other items.



This longbow is more than I could have hoped for. It feels powerful in my hand, and I feel a connection to my ancestors just by holding it. I give my shortbow to Xzar with some arrows.



I realize that I was mistaken last time. I picked up a bastard sword, not a longsword. Xzar mentions that he can use bastard swords, and grabs it out of my hand. He gives Imoen his dagger. He looks even more insane now. I carefully and clearly tell him that shooting arrows is preferable to swordfighting. I hope he understands.

The last bit of loot is for Imoen. She is quietly happy about the Masterwork arrows she found. I'm more than happy to let her shoot them.



Also, she is wearing the hobgoblin's leather armor now. More power to her!



I'll definitely suggest to her to take Montaron's armor when we fight our way back to his corpse, though. It's better. Equipped and ready, I look at my companions. Imoen is focused, poised, and eager. Xzar is feverishly examining his fingernails. Some things must come with time, I guess. I touch the stone again, and we are teleported away...



When we reappear, it is dark. I instruct my companions to form a firing line. I blow Haiass's whistle, but there is no response. Troubling. I take out my familiar and ask it to go find us some monsters. It finds them in short order.



And the goblins fall just as quickly.



The goblins were carrying short bows, armor, a few shortswords, and daggers. Imoen trades out Xzar's dagger for a shortsword, which she says she feels more comfortable with. We find Montaron's equipment, and his body. We pick up everything, not sure what is important and what not. On one of the goblins, we find 3 magical arrows.



I use a scroll of identify on them.



Poisoned arrows! I pass those off to Imoen as well. She holds them gingerly. I set my cat out to explore again, and it tracks down the last hobgoblin who ran. We kill him easily. Then, I lead the party to a promontory that juts out into the ocean.




I ask Xzar if he wants to say a few words, but he just looks confused. So I say that we were sorry Montaron fell, and hope he will find true peace in the afterlife as we lay him to rest. Xzar seems to be trying to hold back some giggles, which makes the entire experience awkward. But I try to ignore him.





And so I lay my second traveling companion to rest in as many days. If life is really this harsh outside Candlekeep, what will happen to us? Will Imoen be next? Xzar? Me? I fear for the future...

[Usurper]

3 Mirtul, 1369

I want to find this wild mage hanging outside of Candlekeep, so I'm taking the party back. It is a four hour trip.



Gameplay note: Look at the tiny, tiny bit of map we get to see on the map page, compared to the entire world map. I'm actually seriously worried that I will not be able to find the places that I need to go to because I'll be lost in a hell of scrolling. And does this mean I can go back to Candlekeep and visit when I'm doing Throne of Bhaal? I'm pretty sure it does. That means I need to think long-term when bribing NPCs. I can pretty much go back to any place I've ever been before. We might have to have a whole talent scout subsection in the OP.

When I get back to Candlekeep, I am happily greeted by Haiass!



I guess Gorion was able to give him the slip somehow, but we are back together. I scratch him behind the ears. Not quite sure where to go, I send my cat out to scout for a mage somewhere outside the walls.

I also realize that I have dogs and cats living together in my two animal companions. I let a little giggle slip out at that. Imoen gives me a look but I ignore her. My cat soon tells me that he spotted a mage walking up to our location. I prepare for what I am going to say.



I tell my companions to look their best, that help is soon coming.



Ah yes, you are perfect. Be honored, young one, for your existence now has a purpose: Rhialto the Marvelous needs your spleen.

It will be the final component for the greatest spell that was worked since, well, since ever!!! Of course, it needs to be extracted while you're still alive, otherwise it would be worthless as an ingredient.

But it won't be too painful... Well, at least it won't take too long. Rhialto the Marvelous is a very experienced surgeon, it will only take an hour or two...



What the FUCK?!

Very many things happen at once. My wolf instantly springs into attack, faster than anything else. A second later Imoen casts Magic Missile. Xzar casts Drain. My cat comes up behind Rhialto and jumps him. And I reflexively throw Azragan's at what appears to be a brightly-flashing spellcasting blur in front of us. I don't even know where my spleen IS!



Then something flies out of the blur and all hell breaks loose.



Gameplay note: Rhialto is a mean bastard, with at least two contengency spells set up, dual-wielding daggers, and his ultimate spell, Glyph of Wild Magic, which he cast at Imoen. She's confused, blinded, and stunned. There's random spell effects going off everywhere and I can't really tell what's going on or what will happen next. The creator of Rhialto suggests the strategy of running, so that's what I plan to do. He also says it should be a relatively easy fight for a level 1 party. However, I'm killed before I can do anything. After reloading, I run a bit faster.

I somehow drag Imoen north with me, and Xzar follows. Rhialto is focused on attacking my cat, so I tell my cat and Haiass to run through the area of random wild magic, hoping to draw Rhialto in too. It works, except that Haiass becomes scared while in the area and freezes up. My cat makes it all the way through, though.



Somewhere in there is Rhialto and my wolf. We fire arrows into the chaos, hoping for a hit. I also order my cat back in, though I wince to do so. Suddenly I feel strange, as if things happened that did not happen, or should, or will. I see Haiass cut down. I saw Imoen killed. I will see Xzar polymorphed into a wolf from a tongue of magic licking him.



And each time I see my own death. Again, and again, I fell, fall, have will fallen. My hand started disintegrating before my eyes, and my body flies apart. Except, it didn't/hasn't. It was right there at the end of my arm and I am shooting arrows with it at an abuser of the weave. I brace myself, because I'm about to see my cat cut down, which ripped all of my life out of me before, is doing so now, and will in 5 seconds. I saw Xzar spread-eagled on the ground, cackling wildly. But here he is, beside me, shooting arrows. No, casting Drain. Why was he over there? When was he ever next to me as he is now?



I was running, following my cat. No one else was around me. What was going on? Where was Imoen?



I have to go back to save her. I reverse my course and my cat is coming with me. When I round the corner of the guardhouse and pass a strange glowing sigil, a terror greets me. A burning mage holding two daggers slowly chases my wolf, while my two companions lay senseless on the ground within a greenish cloud. I call my wolf to me, and he turned to come, but will fall unconscious when he reaches the cloud so why should I bother? I enter the cloud myself and shoot some arrows at Rhialto, getting his attention. Not soon enough to save my wolf, though, which fell in a final whimper.

I felt myself breathe in poison air, and retreated, hoping Rhialto follows me. He does. I will run.



The mage followed me, but slowly. Something had happened to him while in the wild magic cloud. I drew him around the corner, away from my companions, and pelt him with arrows.

It begins to rain.



I prayed to all the gods I knew, past and present, and to magic itself to let me prevail. When Imoen and Xzar appeared around the corner of the wall, I cheered! My cat seemed to interest the crazy wild mage, but he wasn't fast enough to hit her. We poured in the arrows as fast as we could.



Someone must have been listening, because my bow was a force of nature that day.



Except no, it wasn't, Imoen is dead and Xzar and I are fighting alongside the Keeper of the Portal with weapons blessed by the gods, while the screams of the tormented and the ghosts of the dead fly from the earth.



The mind controlled Keeper of the Portal cuts Xzar down, and then me. I scream in agony.

Suddenly, I'm back in conversation, before it all goes crazy.

But it won't be too painful... Well, at least it won't take too long. Rhialto the Marvelous is a very experienced surgeon, it will only take an hour or two...

I turn around and start running away from the horrible and most confusing slaughter to come. The magic has given me a warning - stay away from Candlekeep. My companions and I manage to get away just as the horrible apparition of a mage starts casting his first spell.

Gameplay note: Ok, I tried to take on Rhialto the Marvelous and got my ass handed to me a lot. I died so many times it wasn't funny. I played each time the whole way through, and didn't reload or quit until I died, but MAN did I die. I did learn a lot, though. I now know that my cat is a liability if someone actually manages to hit it. Each time it died, I died too. Haiass's AI is extremely aggressive, even to the point that he would turn around and attack after I had given him an order to retreat, which means he was always first to go down. Rhialto didn't seem to have that many spells, and after surviving his first wild magic glyphs by running away it was supposed to be a matter of plinking him to death with arrows, but he always managed to gib me or my cat before that happened. So I'm treating this all as a horrible premonition that Syvishtar received and running away to do something else first. What do you think of that? I am not going to win every fight, and sometimes I'll reload and try again. Should I just pretend it doesn't happen in this Let's Play? Or should I treat it as some sort of weird alternate universe vision that Syvishtar gets? I did finally find my wolf, at least.

[Usurper]

3 Mirtul, 1369

Not what I expected. Not what I needed. Not what the magic... no the magic didn't... the visions came just in time... the angel on my shoulder told me to run. But the bobfly said it was fine. But the visions...

We stop when we reach the narrow cliff path to the mainland. I look around, take a deep breath, and notice my familiar behind us.

The familiar sighs, its nose twitching slightly with curiosity as it looks up with dark eyes. "What is it now, man? I am hungry. I wish to be petted and fed."

How are you? Everything okay down there?

It looks up with dark eyes, seemingly content to just be near you. It sighs and looks away briefly. "We are connected, you and I. If you are well, so am I."

"But I, myself, am hurt very badly. I bleed, man. I may survive, or I may not... we shall see."'

Come here. I want to pick you up and put you in my pack where it's a bit safer.

The familiar eyes your pack for a moment, and then reluctantly crawls inside. "Very well. It is better that you carry me. Do not bump me around so much, this time, however."

Gameplay note: The poor guy is Near Death. I need to find a cleric to heal him. He can't use healing potions.

I look around for Haiass, but he is not with us. What is wrong with that wolf? Is he simply incapable of running from a fight? I ask Imoeon and Xzar if they saw him running back with us. They both say no. I blow on his whistle. He doesn't show up.

... I can't go back there. Not now. But I will have to, eventually. I need help. I need to go to the Friendly Arm.



Gameplay note: And here we can see one of the quirks of Baldur's Gate I that wasn't translated into BGII, but has nevertheless been preserved in this game. Depending on what side of the area map you exit, different world map options become available. When I was exploring the first area map, I hit exit points on all four sides of the map, which is a habit I picked up long, long ago. That opens up the Coast Way, High Hedge, and Candlekeep as possible destinations. Notice that it doesn't open up Beregost, even though it is right next to two other map locations. I believe it works that way in the city of Amn in the next game, but generally for world map locations you can just go there when you know about it, from any other place. But here in the beginning of the BG1 section of the game we are restricted on the world map in two ways - first, locations we don't know about aren't even shown as icons on the map; and second, locations are still locked unless we have traveled from the correct edge of an area map that we have access to. It's a somewhat cool idea that seems to encourage linear exploration of the world, but the end result is simply that a player will touch all four sides of a map whenever he goes there, even if he's not traveling in that direction right then, so the mechanic is cheapened in that way.

We head down the Coast Way to the east, hopefully to hit a crossroads soon.



We travel for about 8 hours on the road, and eventually come to a kind of half ruin, half road sign. When we get there, a strange old man with a distinctive hat stops us for a talk on the road.



Heh, I... or do I need ta say "Ti"? I mean if "you" is "thou"... or was it "thee"? Uhm... in any case I'm not desperate and not deranged. I'm excited! I am going to be a famous adventurer, like Elminster!

*smiles from behind his moustache* Thou art a spirited girl, Imoen. Now what of thy companion?

Wait, wait! How d'ya know my name?

One can acquire such knowledge in more ways than one, child. But let the quiet one speak.

A fair bit of desperate, actually. Might you know the way to the Friendly Arm Inn? I was told I might find some friends there.

That I would. The Inn is but a short distance to the north, and its doors are open to all. I have no doubt that thy friends shall be there, waiting with open arms. You shall find the protection to the north of shelter, friendship and another kind, if thine eyes be well enough open and thy mind alert, but more than this I cannot say. My sympathies for any hardships the road may have inflicted upon thee, though I am certain everything shall turn out for the best. My, but I have wasted too much of thy time and said too much already. I shall take my leave and wish thee all the best.

I'm pretty sure that guy was a wizard. Wizards that don't immediately try to shank me for my kidneys are A-ok in my book. My hand brushes against my wolf's head and I smile.

MY WOLF'S HEAD! Haiass is back! I bend down and give him a huge squeeze. I hide any possible tears in his fur. Then I start laughing.

Gameplay note: He just showed up right beside me after the chat with Elminster, without me doing anything special. Not quite sure of his exact behavior but the bugger is definitely persistent.

And yes, that was Elminster. He was apparently 8 hours east of Gorion and I, but only stops by to say hi to me incognito, after the most traumatic experience of my life, rather than actually saving his old friend from a cold death and me from eternal mental scarring. If you think my hostility is unwarranted, remember that the dude is a 2nd edition DnD wizard with the ability to literally rewrite reality if he so chooses.

"Haiass is back! I thought... thought he was dead, but he's here!" Brushing away a tear, I laugh long and hard. Xzar gives me an appreciative grin, as if from one insider to another. Imoen looks at me with parts happiness and concern. "Hey buddy, lets get to an Inn. You'll be fine," she says. I don't understand why she sounds like she's forcing nonchalance but it's hilarious, so I continue to giggle for a while longer. I'll bet the bobfly wasn't expecting this! I walk down the path in front of me, in turns sniffling and giggling. Snigfling? Heh. Hehee.

My mirth is cut short when a shape jumps out of the trees.



Magic Missile, Drain, and ... itchiness? Is the magic trying to tell me that the Worg has fleas? In the end, Haiass rips the beast's throat out. Ma poor buddy is lookin Injured.

Gameplay note: Whenever I refer to a character's health with capital letters like Near Death or Injured, that's the official game engine interpretation of their health. Near Death is like 1 or 2 hit points left, and Injured is about 50%. This becomes especially important when fighting bosses.

Not two steps further down the path a regular wolf attacks, but Haiass, backed up by our arrows, kills it too. I don't like the way things are going, though, because the poor guy looks Near Death. I talk to my wolf.



Haiass, come here, take this!

(Haiass approaches and raises his head to see what you give him.)

(Give Haiass a healing potion.)

Gulp!

Gameplay note: My cat familiar can't drink healing potions, but at least Haiass the Wonder Tank can. And judging by the conversation tree it may be possible to give him other things as well. Add that to the list of things we should investigate when we're not dirt poor and on the run from forces we cannot begin to comprehend.



We head north. We are once again ambushed, but this time it is by good advice.



Hey, ya grouch... we weren't shoutin' at all. We are adventurers and understand such things, ya know. Tell him, Syvishtar.

You seem quite at home out here. What's the most dangerous thing you've seen?

The most dangerous thing I intentionally went after? Stalked an ogre mage for a few days once. Had a party of me own back then. Killed the ogre, lost the party. Not really worth the trade, if you ask me. I've seen more dangerous beasties, but usually over my shoulder as I'm making tracks as fast as I can. No shame in running when your life is on the line. Off with you now, I've meat to catch.

Well, that makes me feel a little better! Since I ran from a pink-haired mage like a little screaming girl. For 4 hours straight. Abandoning my pet wolf in the process. At least I'm not the only one in this screwed up world who has done that sort of thing.



Sticking strictly to the road, we encounter no more monsters, and arrive at the Friendly Arm at dawn!

Friendly Arm Inn movie!

Gameplay note: The movie seems oh, SO much more inviting after all the insanity we've been through to get here. Time to rest, relax, and sell shit!

I feel a touch on the back of my neck, and a gentle pull to the east. The magic is calling me, beckoning to me, and so I follow. We, the magic and I, walk east a little bit, to a pine tree.



The magic blows a gentle breeze towards the base of the tree, beckoning me to look inside an extremely small hole there. I bend over, reach down, and look inside to find...



... nothing. Huh. Must have really been just the wind, and I must be losing my goddamn mind.

I documented this little sidetrack to showcase another mod, the Item Randomiser mod. What used to be in the extremely tiny hole in the base of this tree was a Ring of Wizardry, something that gives 1 extra spell slot for levels 1-4, an amazingly powerful item for a low-level mage. Well, it's gone now, so screw me! It's somewhere in the world but in a random location now. Furthermore, the item randomizer runs each time you start a new game. There theoretically could have been something in that hole, like a scroll or some gems, but the randomizer just decided to totally screw us this time. I'm not sure how extensive the randomization is, but I know it's not enough to break quests but enough to make things unexpected. Personally, I'm excited. Are you? Oh, that also means if we forget to loot one obscure chest in a back room somewhere in the middle of Crapton, Nowheresville, we could miss a Ring of Wizardry. More excitement!



Walls! Guards! Flags! The sound of people and animals coexisting in harmony! Civilization! I can't express how happy I am, not even in an internal monologue. I approach the guard to strike up a conversation.



Nope! But from the look of ya they must be on the dreadfully borin' side!

There are rules? What kind of rules?

Perhaps "rules" is a touch too formal. It is unwritten, but accepted, that while herein you will act with the utmost of civility to all other guests. This is neutral ground, and all grievances are left at the gates. If the grievances come in, then you will go out. Enjoy your stay.

My shoulders relax, and I didn't know they were even tense. We all smile and stroll into the Inn grounds, ready to greet and meet every kind peasant and generous commoner we see!













Gameplay note: You know, it's not really emphasized much, but the beginning of Baldur's Gate is remarkably similar to the beginning of the Fallout games. In all of these games you start out by growing up in an isolated center for the preservation of hidden knowledge and/or technology. Syvishtar and Imoen have literally never been outside the walls of Candlekeep before, because it's freakin hard to get back in (even if there aren't wild mages hanging out near the gates). So then in both Fallout and Baldur's Gate, the heroes leave their cloistered existence and jump headlong into a dangerous, threat-filled wasteland full of dangers they cannot yet begin to comprehend. In Fallout it's bandits, ruins, and ghouls. In Baldur's Gate it's also bandits, ruins, and ghouls. Also goblins and kobolds and skeletons and zombies etc etc... They make their way through civilizations of people just trying to scrape by in a world much more hostile than our own. They pick up friends and pets along the way, until finally they identify a Big Bad that they feel like they need to destroy in a grand climatic battle. Well, the last part is the same as every RPG ever, but the first part of my point still stands. Maybe I should rename Syvishtar the Chosen One.

[Usurper]

There's nothing like other people to ruin a good mood. But I refuse to go down! With confidence, we all march up to the front entrance of the Inn.



I am here to meet some friends.

Oh, you must be whom I am to meet then. I will take you to your friends, but first I should be sure you are the correct person. Is your name Syvishtar?

Why, Yes it is.

Perfect. You are indeed the person I seek. Hold still a moment, will you?



No, not again!! Reflexively I shoot an arrow at the bastard in front of me. Xzar snarls out a Drain, and follows it up with an arrow of his own. Imoen looks to be closing in on the target to cast a spell [Charm Person] when Tarnesh just drops.



Gameplay note: Those 10 lines, my friends, were the entire battle. Haiass didn't even get into melee range before Tarnesh died. Going up against Rhialto 100 times in a vision was apparently good for the party's combat reflexes.

Imoen was quick to loot the body.



Look! Here's somethin'... Hey? Think I can turn ya into a frog?

Hold on, lemme try...

Manos! Potentis! PAH...!

Whoa! Hold on, Imoen! You're no wizard. You shouldn't be fooling around with that. I don't want you to hurt yourself.

Aw, don't worry about me. I was only kiddin'.

Those 'spells' or whatever, the things in the back? They look kinda important. I won't mess with those.

But these lil' old things in the front... Betcha even I could learn some of them. I'm gonna try, anyway.

Well, I suppose it will be all right. Just be careful, okay?

Hey! I told ya! Dontcha worry 'bout me. I'm no dummy. I know what I'm doin'.

I'll be 'slingin' spells' in no time. Haha!

Gameplay note: Oh foreshadowing, how I love thee. The mage dropped 14 gold, a quarterstaff, scrolls of Magic Missle, Armor, and Burning Hands, and a bounty notice.



There's 200 gold on my head? When did this happen? Is that why the Armored Figure attacked Gorion?



This is going in my spellbook. I give the other scrolls to Xzar, who looks at me with a face of eternal gratitude before beginning to busily scribble in what passes for his own spellbook. Then, not knowing what to do with the body, we just head into the Inn proper.

Gameplay note: Exciting times are ahead, folks! Weapons, armor, equipment, and new companions! Upcoming decisions that we'll have to make soon include going north towards Baldur's Gate, south to Beregost and Nashkel, or trying for east or west to see what happens. Let me know what you think we should do, and remember that while the main plotline of BG is still here, there are tons of other things to do too!

[Leokosta]

Well, if i was to vote, I would vote for the premonitions, as much as I like Fringe. Anyway, I only beat Rhialto with a party of level 4, so its surely not that easy.
On a rolepleying note, I think what the protagonist would do would be going back to Candlekeep to get help, or at least warn the city of what happened to Gorion.

Edited by Leokosta, 12 December 2011 - 06:12 AM.

[Jarno Mikkola]

Well, if i was to vote, I would vote for the premonitions, as much as I like Fringe. Anyway, I only beat Rhialto with a party of level 4, so its surely not that easy.

Well, by running away from him, it's meant to be ran away so that the spells he casts have no active target, so no damage is not taken... and as Rhialto casts 4-7 or so spells he is turned into a squirrel that can be killed more easily. The SCS can probably alter his behavior a bit, but the script should still fire normally with the same result. Like the contingency auto spells, as they are not actually casted, but prepared "earlier".

But back to the original topic and the description of the journey.

[Lollorian]

Some spoilers if you dare to peek

About the XP loss in Shaundalar's Cave (the Recall Stone area)

Spoiler

The XP cut is 10% of your total XP, so yeah, it's gonna increase

Btw, there's another item you'll get that teleports you to a private pocket plane - and that one has no XP loss and even has containers, shelves and chests to store you phat lewts

About Candlekeep during BGII-ToB:

Spoiler

While the areas would still show up during the BGII phase of the game, you aren't allowed to travel to them So you might not wanna plan long term if you know what I mean

Also, I'm kinda surprised by the Watcher who offers to take you to Gorion:

Spoiler

... who comes from SCS' Skip Candlekeep component btw In all my games, he'd give me a set amount of time (methinks 2 mins) to get my stuff after which he'd directly teleport me to Gorion (no dialogues and stuff )

Mayhaps the newer SCSes changed this so that was an interesting thing for me

Might I say I absolutely love the way you screenshot entire item descrips in one seamless image? How do you get the in-game font to show up so clearly in your images btw? It's almost like they were text boxed in there

Edited by Lollorian, 12 December 2011 - 06:52 AM.

[Jarno Mikkola]

Might I say I absolutely love the way you screenshot entire item descrips in one seamless image? How do you get the in-game font to show up so clearly in your images btw? It's almost like they were text boxed in there

It's done via the font mod... this.

[Usurper]

Yeah, I heard people say that Rhialto eventually turns into a squirrel. The problem was that I scouted around with my cat and activated him, so that he met me at the front gate of Candlekeep. It was a lot harder to run away past him and not die to a few wild surges. And I'm trying not to play the game by reloading hard encounters 50 times to win. I'm trying to make a good story where I sometimes get defeated and people sometimes die. Actually you'll see that people end up dying a lot, heh. And I do end up using premonitions a lot throughout the narrative, so it does become kinda Fringe-like.

[Usurper]

4 Mirtul, 1369

When we walk into the Friendly Arm Inn, a drunk guy approaches us and starts complaining right away. Imoen of course talks to him without a qualm, despite the fact that we had just gotten attacked outside.



How come the roads are cut off?

Where you been these past few months? The roads are crawling with brigands and bandits after every scrap o' iron you got on ye. Surely you must have fled some on your trip here... lest you came by the west road, that is.

Why is the west road still open?

If there's ever a book shortage, that road to Candlekeep will be the most dangerous of them all, I assure you. But these folks are after metal so they're sticking mainly to the larger trade routes between Baldur's Gate and Amn... An' guess what: this here inn is smack dab in the middle o' it all.

It seems like we didn't leave Candlekeep at the best of times. Bandits on the roads. Sounds similar to what those peasants were saying outside. But I'm not here for that, i'm here to find Khalid and Jaheira, like Gorion told me.

Imoen wanted to find out what was going on, though, so she talked to everyone.







Its a lively, friendly place. There is a bard that keeps saying loud lines, trying to attract attention to himself. He calls himself Lake Poet Sam. Inevitably, I go to talk to him.



I hardly have enough coin at present to patronize the arts for their own sake. Can you offer something useful in exchange for our gold?

Well, I can spread the word of your accomplishments, perhaps in a different light. For a small amount of coin, I can sing your praises to the countryside in a way that makes you appear more powerful, more intimidating, perhaps more worthy of fear.

Mummy always said it paid to make friends in the right places.

Wow, Syvishtar, we could be famous without ever leaving home. Just think of what old Puffguts would say if he could hear about Imoen the Great and her bold party of intrepid adventurers. *sigh* It is an attractive offer. Though it might be nicer to find someone to spread words about our good deeds, instead.

I have a wide variety of things I can offer a discerning customer. What say you?

Why would I pay someone to malign me?

Not everyone has heard of your fearsome reputation.

No thank you, I do not need your services today.

Well, if you change your mind, I am performing here regularly.

Gameplay note: Lake Poet Sam is offering to lower our reputation. I'm not sure what reputation mods are in effect in this game, except that I'm pretty sure NPCs will no longer leave due to extreme reputations, although they will grumble. I have heard of a mod that puts in an intimidation discount at stores if you have a low enough reputation, although I was unable to find out if that made it into the Big World or not. However, if you're the kind of person who wants an evil reputation, Lake Poet Sam is there for you.

Over in the corner, distinguished from the rest of the patrons by their weapons, are Khalid and Jaheira. I approach them and say hi.




G-good to know you..

We are old friends of your adopted father. He is not with you? I must assume the worst; he would not permit his only child to wander without his accompaniment.

If... if be has passed, we share your loss.

Gorion often said that he worried for your safety, even at the expense of his own. He also wished that Khalid and I would become your guardians, if he should ever meet an untimely end. However, you are much older now, and the choice of your companions should be your own.

We could t-travel with you until you get settled; help you find your l-lot in life.

It would be a fitting last service to Gorion, though we should first go to Nashkel. Khalid and I... look into local concerns, and there are rumors of strange things happening at the mine. No doubt you have heard of the iron shortage? You would do well to help us. It affects everyone, including you. We are to meet the mayor of the town, Berrun Ghastkill.

Isn't it great, Syvishtar? We made it through the forest full of gibberlings and wolves, and now we are meeting *real* adventurers! Things are lookin' up!

Hey, Auntie Jaheira, I am Imoen! A friend of Syvishtar's.. Actually, more like a guardian than a friend, ya know? Lookin' after him, and all that.

Adventurers generally do not call each other 'auntie', Imoen. But enough distractions. Gorion had mentioned you in his correspondence, praising your fast friendship with his ward. You are welcome to come along.

I'm already going to Nashkel. One of my current acquaintances wishes to visit there as well.

Indeed? Interesting. In that case I think we should definitely travel as one. You can never be too careful about the dangers of the open road. Wherever they may spring from.

Yeah! Uncle Khalid and Auntie Jaheira are coming with us! This is going to be a great adventure, after all!

*sigh*

Gameplay note: Ok, time to take a look at Jaheira and Khalid's records! Jaheira goes first because she obviously wears the pants in the relationship.



She is still a multi-class, but unusually so. She is a Fighter/Priest of Sylvanus. The Priest of Sylvanus comes from the same Neverending Journey mod that brings us Imoen's Charming Rogue class. Unfortunately, in-game she still registers as a Fighter/Druid so the in-game description of her class is absent. We have to delve into the readme to find out what she has going on:

PRIEST OF SYLVANUS: This druid kit was especially created for Jaheira to reflect her unique personality.

Advantages:
- She may gain the grand mastery in any missile weapons she can use including light crossbows. [Actually in testing it seemed to be ONLY crossbows.]
- She gains +1 to hit, and +1 to damage with any missile weapon for every six levels of experience.
- She has access to three innate abilities, which become available from her innate slots as she advances levels:

1. Sylvanus Mental Agility. This spell creates the energetic channel between Jaheira and her god that quickens the thought processes allowing her to cast spells more quickly than normally. Jaheira gains this spell at levels:
Level 1, +1 to casting speed factor for 2 rounds,

Level 6, +2 to casting speed factor for 7 rounds,

Level 12, +3 to casting speed factor for 9 rounds,

Level 18, +4 to casting speed factor for 12 rounds.
2. Sylvanus Physical Agility. This spell quickens Jaheira's reflexes, enabling faster and more effective combat. Jaheira gains this spell at levels:

Level 3, +1 to attack speed factor and dexterity for 2 rounds,
Level 9, +2 to attack speed factor and +1 to dexterity for 7 rounds,

Level 15, +3 to attack speed factor and +1 to dexterity for 9 rounds,
Level 21, +4 to attack speed factor and +2 to dexterity for 11 rounds.
3. Sylvanus Shape Change. Jaheira gains this spell at levels 12th, 24th and 36th. With this spell, she is able to assume the form of a powerful creature (mind flayer, iron golem, greater wolfwere, earth elemental, fire elemental, or giant troll), and becomes the creature she wishes, gaining almost all of its abilities. Thus, she can change into a mind flayer to stun her opponents and then become an earth elemental to crush her foes. These creatures have whatever hit points Jaheira had at the time of the shape change. Each alteration in form requires only a second, and no system shock is incurred. Note that the although the assumed form has the combat characteristics of the real creature, it may not have all of its immunities.

Disadvantages:
- No regular shapeshifting abilities.

So she can be a crossbow-using druid with excellent shapeshifting later on in life. I used to use Jaheira as a front-line fighter because of her multi-class, but this forces her into the back row plinking crossbow bolts and casting druid spells. Oh yes, she still has full spellcasting abilities. Lets take a look at her priest scroll (not spellbook) which contains 11 first-level spells. She will never get more, because that's how priests work. They just have access to every spell they can cast as soon as they level up.



Armor, but it only lasts one turn. It's good for casting right before melee combat.



Bless is an old priest standby. Everything becomes +1 better. It's good for casting just as combat begins.



But Cure Light Wounds is the main reason to have a priest around. There's just nothing better than someone walking calmly around in combat and healing you just when you need it.



And Curse, the opposite of Bless. Everything just becomes -1 worse for the enemy. Using bless and then curse means you have a +2 advantage over your enemies, which is important when there's 50 of them and they're all coming after you and you're stuck in a mountain pass with a broken sword ... (could very well happen in this game!)



Detect Evil is here because it's in DnD 2nd edition, but it is almost never useful in-game. I think there is one paladin quest in the original BGII that uses it to determine whether or not you should kill a guy. But otherwise bad guys generally show themselves by attacking you on sight. This game is not subtle.



Its hard not to think of a low-level priest as a cheerleader. Bless is them cheering "Yay, go team!" Curse is them saying, "You guys suck!" And Doom is the priest specifically pointing at one guy and saying, "You! You're going down."



Jaheira's signature spell and important crowd control. I have this habit of using several Grease and Entangle spells in the same spot to keep monsters where they should be while everybody hits them with ranged weapons. I always use a druid for that.



Faerie Fire is one of those spells that I never end up using. It gives an armor class penalty, and I think it prevents someone from going invisible, but, well, I usually take up space memorizing other spells.



Because Jaheira is practically fated to be a crossbow user, you can imagine she would only use Shillelagh to get away from a monster closing in for melee range. The magical weapon roots people, after all. Only problem is that after she successfully rooted her attacker and moved further away, she couldn't switch back to ranged weapons until the spell duration expired, which is 2 turns. So more realistically, Shillelagh is the spell you use to switch Jaheira to melee mode.



Strength of Stone is another component of successful melee combat, because STR means damage. The spell says that if a character has 17 STR it may possibly be lowered by the spell. Thankfully Khalid's strength is 16, so he can always benefit. I'm thinking perhaps the game designers planned Jaheira to be a buffbot for Khalid. (For some reason I've never actually used the Jaheira/Khalid combo in BG1. I didn't like Khalid.)



And finally, the anti-undead spell. Also possibly causes blindness but really its for burning skeletons and zombies to dust. Always good to have on the spellbook, and memorize as the situation arises.

For now, I'm thinking Jaheira needs to memorize 3 Cure Light Wounds and 2 Entangles.

She is wearing leather armor. She also has a healing potion, a light crossbow, and 40 crossbow bolts:





1D8 damage, go Jaheira! She also, for some reason, brings a Potion of Invisibility.

[Usurper]

As soon as we get done assessing Jaheira, she has a question for us.



Candlekeep was our home, so I suppose that's where he should be finally laid down to rest... assuming those bastards would even let us back in for that.

Oh, they shall let us in eventually. I wish that we had a tome of leather parchments made from the hides of the bandits who attacked you, to pay for our entry. That of the one who had slain him shall be saved for the cover. I am sorry, Syvishtar, for sharing such a grim thought, but Khalid and myself... we loved Gorion dearly. It is not easy to speak of burial, when his murderers still walk unpunished.

I'm liking the way this woman talks! Punishment for Gorion's murderers! This woman is truly in touch with the gods.

Gameplay note: Let's look at Khalid next.




He is a single-classed fighter. Very boring. He has acceptable stats... little low on the STR and a little high on the INT, although not high enough to become a great wizard.

In his inventory he also brings a healing potion. His splint mail and shield get him to 0 AC, his greatest advantage. He also wields a longsword.







The thing I've never liked about this guy is that he runs away. He has some hard-coded AI to get scared and flee when he is low on hit points. But he's supposed to be a fighter! What good is your tank if he just up and takes off sometimes? But if you kick him out, Jaheira goes too. The only way to keep Jaheira and not Khalid is to do him like we did Montaron.

I had some trouble with this guy. I want to change the classes of boringly-classed NPCs to more exciting versions, since there are so many. However, when I was looking through the fighter classes I just couldn't immeidately find anything that would fit a half-elf that prefers fighting sword-and-board and runs away like a pussy all the time. So perhaps the thread can help me!

WHAT CLASS SHOULD KHALID BECOME?

With a little stat re-allocation he could qualify to be the undead-hunting VINDICATOR:



He could be an ELEMENTAL WARRIOR, perhaps scared all the time due to his cruel training methods while growing up in furthest Calimshan:



He could have put that good INT to use and trained himself as a DUSKBLADE. That would also explain him wearing splint mail right now, and his lack of any ranged weapons:



Or his stuttering and generally frightened demeanor could all be an act because he's a muthafuckin' DREADNOUGHT in battle (and in bed, which would explain his relationship with Jaheira):



So guys, what statement do you think best describes Khalid?

* Khalid loathes the undead. He is going to kill the next undead he sees. He is a VINDICATOR. His stuttering is actually sputtering because his eternal burning hatred always consumes him.
* While growing up in furthest Calimshan, Khalid was subjected to the cruel training methods necessary to become an ELEMENTAL WARRIOR. He stutters to this day, but fears not heat, cold, or the tops of hills during storms.
* Khalid is a nerdy fighter who has read up on ancient elven spellcasting techniques enough to train himself as a DUSKBLADE. Using his high INT, he will soon start protecting himself from arrows with Entropic Shield and casting Magic Missile in splint mail.
* Khalid is going the Clark Kent route as a DREADNOUGHT. He is both the immovable rock and the unstoppable force. He is just so modest, not wanting to embarrass lesser men, that he pretends to be a bumbling, harpy-ridden fool.

[Usurper]

In the original thread, there was a great debate over either making Khalid a Dreadnought or a Duskblade. The greatest quotes supporting Dreadnought were these:

Dreadnought, obviously. The lil fucker can't run away if he's "Unmovable." Besides, the Clark Kent routine is the only thing that could make his otherwise aggravating personality bearable.

Why do you think Irenicus had to kill him? He's a Dreadnought, and no power on faerun would have kept him from Jaheira or CHARNAME whilst he was alive. Sadly, Irenicus found the loophole in that statement.

The greatest quotes supporting Duskblade were these:

Duskblade because you KNOW the little nerd wants to cast Magic Missile on the darkness.

This fool is a Duskblade. And may he live well or die horribly as the way of things go.

In the end, Duskblade won by one vote.

Edited by Usurper, 12 December 2011 - 05:24 PM.

[Usurper]

4 Mirtul, 1369

Gameplay note: Ok, it was a close race between Duskblade and Dreadnought, but in the end Duskblade won. So lets all say hello to Khalid the Duskblade.



Looks like he's got more hit points now. That's good at least. His duskblade powers won't kick in until level 4, so don't hold your breath. Time to sell!



Bentley is not a dwarf to mess around with conversation. All of the weapons and armor we picked up from our fights amount to 80 gold. We don't sell any of the gems, rings, or necklaces on account of wanting to bribe people later. With the money I buy enough arrows for everybody, and bolts for Jaheira, to max out everybody's quivers (450 arrows/bolts), leaving us with 76 gold. When we get done selling, Jaheira has a "helpful suggestion" for us.




As tempting as the first wacky response is, my only thought is of you guys. I'm sure you want to know the intimate details of these two lovebirds, so that's where I go.

Forest lore, hmmm... How did you and Khalid first meet?

How is *that* related to forest lore?

Well, you are a lady of the forest, and Khalid is a man of the woods... Erm... it is a bit of a stretch, but I couldn't think of a more opportune time to ask, without seeming to pry.

I'll indulge your curiosity, Syvishtar. The first time I saw Khalid was at a ball. We both were... we both had to attend on business, but neither of us knew the other. I had done what I had to and was about to leave, when I saw him standing all by himself. He looked so awkward and shy that I felt sorry for him and came over to talk. I found him surprisingly charming, and we got to know each other better...

Hmm, funny, Khalid told me the same story, only he said it was *you* who was standing all by yourself.

Oh? That's an interesting... piece of lore.

Ahem! Actually, we were *both* standing by ourselves... but getting back to wood lore - did you know that grubs can be quite tasty?... No one can cook them like Jaheira!

I don't know why I just lied there, but it seems like it worked out alright. I should probably watch my tongue better in the future. I don't want these people to think poorly of me. I wonder what is upstairs in this huge inn?



Apparently the lap of luxury! Wow, I've never seen any place so comfortable-looking! I could just stretch out on this couch and lounge forever. And at just 1 gold piece a night, we could stay here for... lets see... 2 1/2 months! If only Khalid and Jaheira could relax and stop talking about Nashkel.

Imoen, as always, goes to be social.







Gameplay note: I'm not going to go into too much detail here, but suffice it to say that Rupert can die your characters any color they want to be, all 256 pure colors and a ton of different gradients too. You can customize your character's look much greater than just choosing the major and minor colors at character creation. You can choose colors for every piece of your outfit. Its a little expensive so I'm not going to bother with it now, but maybe I will later on. You'll never know!



I have seen quite the number of Nobles wandering the Inn. How is it that you can afford to stay here?

The Arm caters to everyone, and everyone is more or less equal under her roof. Some of the rooms do cost a bit more, but there is room for everyone at almost every price.

Sounds great. I wonder what else we can find here?



A rogue... ogre. I wonder if she means one that's out of control and bucking the system or more like the sneaky-hidey type? At any rate, sounds like something just up Khalid and Jaheria's alley. I saw them perk up right away. We're probably going to have to go out there and find it.

Imoen starts looking restless so we head up to the next floor. On the way up Imoen mutters under her breath about nobody trusting anyone and everything being locked. I'm not quite sure what she means. Once we get there...



Oh, hey, a job! And 100 gold! Now this is something I can handle. Beregost is south right? I'll have to ask Jaheira. I decide to help Imoen out with the canvassing she's intent on doing. The first room I enter has a very strange gentleman...



My Candlekeep instincts kick right in and before I know what I'm saying...

Sir, yes sir! Pantaloons pressed and ready by tonight or breakfast is free, sir!

Service with a smile and a snap in your step. That's what we like to see. Now get going, damn you! Not a coin for a tip if there's even ONE tear!

I look down at my hands to see what the buffoon has given me.



... there is NO WAY I'm ever returning these. I've GOT to show Imoen! And magical?!

Since there are only three floors to this Inn, we decide to go outside the explore the grounds. Next to the Inn proper there is a smaller building, which turns out to be the Temple of Wisdom.



Gameplay note: You know, I freakin love the temple music of the BGII series. I should extract it and turn it into background music for my house. You can listen to what this particular temple sounds like on YouTube. But that's all we can enjoy here at the Temple of Wisdom because a healing potion costs 225 gold.

After exiting the rather beautiful temple, Xzar announces that he is tired, so we go back to the Inn and rest. After resting I can identify the pantaloons, so I do.



Gameplay note: Pantocrator! I finally realize where these things come from! They're obviously a high-end artifact from Dominions 3.

Believe it or not, this is not a mod. Nope, this is pure, unadulterated, vintage Black Isle crazy from 1998. And if you don't know what these are for already, you won't be able to find out until we're in Throne of Bhaal, near the very end of the game. Sorry! Also, you can't wear them, they are not equippable, so don't suggest Khalid wear them, even though I'm sure he'd look dashing twinkling around the map in golden pantaloons.

I am even more confused, but nevertheless delighted! So delighted in fact that I suggest we go kill pervy ogres, before Jaheira brings it up.

We start out by exploring the immediate area surrounding the Inn. To the west Khalid spots hobgoblins!



They never stood a chance. North along the road we find a few more. They fall before our arrows. Khalid even comments, "My, ah, heart's really not in this." Can't say that I blame him, they are just too easy to kill.

One of the hobgoblins was carrying a strange potion.



I'm sure it's fine.

We continue to patrol the immediate area, and aside from executing a few more hobgoblins, we find nothing to do. I guess we have to go a little further afield to find the lady's belt. But, hey, this area can be declared secure!



Gameplay note: ok, we'll have to stop here. Next decision we should make is to go north, south, or east from here (there's nothing to the west). The quests are pointing us south, but perhaps the Imp of the Perverse will make me go north! Let me know what to do!

[Jarno Mikkola]

I shall yes.

Just to get Ajantis and kill one of those bugs.

[Dakk]

Are we current with SA yet? So this vote matters?

Just a quick question though; aren't you missing out on the very first non-Candlekeep quest? Joia (sp?) and her flamedance ring?

North sounds dangerous, yet rewarding. Go north, it is (not) peaceful there!

Edited by Dakk, 14 December 2011 - 04:27 AM.

[Tempest]

It is not caught up. Usurper, you may want to consider editing or removing the voting things when you copy/paste from the SA thread.

[Dakk]

It is not caught up.

Aww.

Usurper, you may want to consider editing or removing the voting things when you copy/paste from the SA thread.

Maybe just give the highlights of the voting process like you did for Khalid's class..?

Edited by Dakk, 14 December 2011 - 06:30 AM.

[Usurper]

Actually at this point the thread was still pretty disorganized and there weren't actually voting highlights. I just went south. I should have clarified though, sorry.

[Usurper]

6 Mirtul, 1369

I wonder what to do next, and ponder for a moment. Scratching my hip, and touching my shoulder lightly, I decide that we should probably go south to get that belt back, even if it is backtracking. After all, the tiny lady had said the ogre was south of the Inn. It takes 8 hours.



On the way, Xzar finally seems to be able to put words to what he's feeling about the loss of Montaron.




*Brief pause follows. Xzar inclines his head as if listening to something.*

Why, thank you, Monty... You, too.

Is he really... Can necromancers really do that? I never really studied much about them in Candlekeep for some reason. But the sudden goosebumps on my arms prevent me from actually asking about such a ghastly thing, so instead I just mentally send my cat out to patrol the area. He seems to be Uninjured since we rested.

My cat romps off into the woods, and soon reports some guy standing around as if looking for something. So we go off in the general direction, thinking perhaps we can talk to the guy. But as we near his location, Jaheira spots some hostiles in the trees. A dog, and apparently his master.



He shoots a few arrows at us, and we at him, but in the end it is Haiass that gets them both. I never really realized how vicious Haiass was when I was staying in Candlekeep. Out here, though, he seems much more at home, much more comfortable at fighting than I am. The bandit has some basic equipment on him, but Jaheira suggests we scalp him as a bandit. She says bandit scalps are worth money to the right person. Khalid does it before I have a chance to agree or disagree.



After that short fight, we cautiously approach the guy my cat had seen earlier. He proves to be an interesting character.




Sure, give us some booze.

I hope you are enjoying your liquor, it is some of the best you can find. All of you are probably wondering why I'm being so generous, 'obviously not from the kindness of his heart' you think. Well in a way I am. You look like the type to be on the outlook for ways to improve the quality of your life. Well, I have a proposal that could help you in that endeavor. You see, there's a girl, my lover in fact, who desires to escape her father and live on her own. Her father is Entar Silvershield, one of the Dukes of Baldur's Gate. This, of course, makes her desire more difficult than that of the average city girl. However, with your assistance we could help her escape the tyrannical clutches of Entar. Here's the punch line: since Entar's going to be hunting us anyway we can blackmail him for hordes of cash and not worry about our captive escaping. After all, we're doing it all for the sake of Skie. Now we needn't go about this right away, in fact I'll help you with whatever you're doing until you decide to head to Baldur's Gate. Just think of it as one favor deserving another.

Sure, we could use the extra help and your scheme sounds like it could work.

I'm glad you're all savvy enough to recognize a good opportunity when it comes.

I dunno 'bout this guy. I mean his scheme isn't all that terribly bad or anything, but I get the feeling he's not tellin' us everything.

Shall we go?

Damsels in distress? A girl with an oppressive father keeping her down, who wants to go see the world but is trapped in an boring, loveless existence?! HELL YEAH I'm interested! I brush off Imoen's objections. This is going to be EPIC!

Gameplay note: Alright, we have a sixth party member finally! Lets take a look at him...



He's got pretty good stats all around. good STR, DEX, CON, and acceptable CHA. He's low on INT and WIS but not too low. He's a Musician (an eeeevil Musician!), which is a bard kit.



Pretty useful bard song, and the Deaf Tone and Charm Tone he has access to right now sound really good to have around. Pity about the aversion to bows, though. He comes wearing leather armor and wielding a dagger, nothing more. I'm not so sure he was in a fight at all, actually. We'll have to pick him up a sling somewhere, since he has 1 point in slings.

Shortly after us meeting up with Eldoth, we get attacked by a pack of wolves. We kill one and the other runs away. We are quite the intimidating crowd now! Eldoth is composing a theme song for the group. Emboldened, we set out to scout the other 3/4ths of the area.



We soon come across another bear. This time, we give it a wide berth.



Or we try to, but it wanders our way and decides to attack my cat at the absolute worst moment.



Arrows and Magic Missiles go flying. Khalid steps up to do battle with the bear, and gets severely messed up. Eldoth tries to do some cajoling, but gets nowhere. Jaheria rushes over to heal Khalid, and Haiass gets in the killing blow. After the battle I check out my cat, and it looks Near Death. I get chills thinking how close we had both come to oblivion. I instruct Jaheira to heal the cat as well. After that's taken care of, I notice something else.




I hope you're being careful with that, Imoen. I don't want you or anyone else to get hurt.

Quit worryin' already! I think I can understand some of it.

Though, this stuff IS kinda complicated...

Complicated? Nonsense, 'tis clear as a stream of the purest lymphatic fluid, but why concern yourself with such matters, when there are experts such as I to attend to them, dear child?

Well, 'cause I'm kinda interested in magic, I guess.

Guess?!? Then you must wait until you are certain. The Art requires severe and ceaseless self-discipline.

Yeah, sure!

I am pleased that my example has imparted that, at least. Now, where's Monty? Oh, well, I suppose you've pawed it thoroughly enough that you would have triggered any extant wards by now.

Wards?

Of course. All prudent mages trap their spellbooks against intrusion... and many imprudent mages do so as well. Such lovely sparkly colors. And the remains sometimes contain items worth the bother of picking them out of the goo.

*gulp* er... thanks? I think...

Hey! I think I've got this one down pat. Yep. Easy as pie. Hold on, Syvishtar, this'll be fun...

Why do I have a bad feeling about this?

Watch this!

Hex-o! Prest-o! Um... shabadoo? Ooops!



Her "oops" sends a jolt of fear through my body, and I rush over to Imoen to see if there's anything wrong. But all I find is this.



I tell her to very carefully hand the artifact to me, over Xzar's protestations. I will study this and see if its safe for the girl to use further. I remember my own first hesitant steps in the Art, and worry for her. I don't want her burning half her face off if I can help it.

We continue exploring, looking for the ogre. We find another pack of dogs, which we kill quickly.



On the road we find a sign pointing the way to Beregost to the south, and a messenger running in that direction.



I'm no politician, but it sounds like tensions are building. Shortly after that, we come across a ghastly, fly-filled scene of destruction.



We all look to each other and mouth the word bandits. We keep a wide berth because of the stench, but that same stench attracts more dogs.



They are not so much a problem as deeply disturbing. What is going on along this road that causes so many wild dogs to roam? What are they all eating? We run across another bandit and his dog. The same attack-kill-scalp scenario happens. Is taking bandit scalps normal?

[Usurper]

We patrol further, and find an unpleasant surprise.



There is no surrender for carrion like these.

Have ta kill ya now. Nothin' personal, ya understand?

We are attacked. Arrows slam into Xzar and Eldoth. Xzar's spell is interrupted, but Eldoth falls to the ground twitching. Jaheira and Imoen target the leader, while I try a spell, which fizzles. Khalid pops a healing potion and wades into the melee alongside my cat and wolf. We take out one of theirs as well, tit for tat.



I tell Xzar to move behind me, as I try again to reach for the weave. Everyone else is focusing on the leader, so I throw an Azragan's at her.



The weave blows up in my hand and I'm burned. Magic is sometimes a cruel mistress. I also retreat next to Xzar, hoping that the battle can go well without us. It doesn't.



Haiass rips the throat out of the bandit leader and she falls, but one of her cronies gets a lucky shot on Imoen, and she goes down as well. We all switch targets to the bastard that got her.



He gets another shot off at Jaheira, severely wounding her, before my cat claws his eyes out and he goes down. The one remaining bandit tries to shoot Haiass, but is not effective. My animals overcome him as well, and the battle is over. Xzar says, "I am become death, destroyer of worlds!" followed by some insane cackling. But I do not feel well. Not at all. In fact, I can't move.



Jaheira goes over to the bandits and scalps them herself, then picks up Khalid's body and equipment. She firmly instructs me to do the same with Imoen's. She tells me we are going back to the Temple of Wisdom right now. She tells me we are going to resurrect our friends. I woodenly do as she says. What horrors have been visited upon me since I left Candlekeep. What grief. I try not to think that I'm cradling the dead body of my childhood friend in my arms. I focus only on the Temple of Wisdom. She's not REALLY dead, just injured, I tell myself. She'll be fine.

She'll be fine.

Gamplay note: Ok guys, we have some possibly difficult decisions to make. With 3 dead party members, all at level 1, it's going to cost us 300 gold to raise them all. We currently have 95 gold, but I think with selling some equipment, especially what dropped from the bandits we fought, we can possibly raise 300 gold. Do we do that? Do we leave Eldoth at the bandit ambush? Khalid? Do we abandon Imoen's body to the ravages of wild dogs? Choices must be made.

About the fight, I guess I got a little cocky, and didn't try any super-special tactics. After all we had been mowing down dog packs, wolf packs, and dog-and-bandit packs all day no problem. The AI for the bad guys was pretty sophisticated. They seemed to ignore the melee dudes and went after the magic guys first. They took out the bard immediately, and then targeted Xzar as a caster. When Xzar and I moved out of range they didn't come after us, instead they all focused on Khalid, the melee guy. After he went down, they went after the normal ranged attackers, Imoen and Jaheira. It almost feels like a multiplayer game here. I'm going to have to be a little more careful in the future.